Fugassa Italian Eatery
Back For Seconds
Opening a restaurant with a partner, spouse, or close friend is one of the hardest things a person can do. Anyone who has worked in the restaurant industry already knows exactly what I mean, and anyone who hasn’t truly can’t understand the constant stress, exhaustion, problem-solving, and chaos owners deal with every single day.
Restaurants don’t succeed by accident. If one survives – let alone thrives – it’s because of relentless effort, consistency, passion, and a work ethic that borders somewhere between admirable and slightly psychotic. Which brings us back to Barn Owl Eatery & Café.
Last year I featured Barn Owl and later gave them my “Burger of the Year” award, and since then the restaurant has only become more popular with each passing month. So naturally, once owners Megan and Jav finally reached the point where they had a nonstop revolving door of customers and daily chaos . . . they decided to open a second restaurant 20 feet away. Because apparently sleep in their family (they have young kids as well) is optional.
Owners Megan and Jag.
After months of renovations and years of dreaming and planning, Fugassa Italian Eatery officially opened in April to immediate praise and overwhelming support. I sat down with Megan and Jav to talk about the concept behind the new restaurant and why they thought opening another business beside the first one was somehow a good idea.
Megan explained that moving back into the original Barn Owl location – which technically makes three restaurant moves in three years – was actually meant to reduce their workload. I stared at her in complete confusion, but she explained they had simply run out of room because of how much support the community had shown them at the current Barn Owl.
Their kitchen space was no longer big enough to keep up with production. By moving operations around, they were able to use the old building for house-made baking and prep work while freeing up space to continue growing Barn Owl and creating something entirely different with Fugassa. And different it is.
The idea behind Fugassa is authentic, traditional Italian cuisine using real Italian ingredients and the same minimalist philosophy you would find in Italy itself. You aren’t going to find Fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Parmesan, or oversized “Italian-American” pasta dishes overloaded with ingredients. Instead, Fugassa focuses on simplicity – high-quality ingredients treated with respect and allowed to shine on their own.
In my opinion, the best food in the world often has the fewest ingredients because every flavor gets a chance to stand out instead of being buried underneath sauces and excess. Fugassa fully understands that concept.
This became obvious the moment my lunch arrived, starting with house-made focaccia baked fresh daily and served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar that honestly deserves some kind of award. I’m not exaggerating when I say it was the best balsamic vinegar I’ve ever tasted. Smooth, fruity, rich, and somehow lacking that harsh acidic punch most balsamic vinegars have. Within two bites I was already asking where I could buy a bottle. Conveniently, they sell many of the ingredients they use right in the restaurant.
Then came what I’m convinced will become their soon-to-be-famous Italian sandwiches.
I ordered the Pesto Classico, built on two massive pieces of fresh focaccia layered with house-made pesto, prosciutto and mortadella, authentic stracciatella cheese flown in weekly from Italy, peppery arugula, olive oil, and that dangerously addictive balsamic vinegar. With only a handful of ingredients, it somehow becomes an absolute umami bomb of flavor.
And if you think I’m exaggerating, I can produce the receipts because I ordered the sandwich three separate times in one week and even sent a friend to try it, who immediately declared it the best sandwich he had ever eaten. But Megan and Jav weren’t done with me yet.
They also brought out Bucatini Amatriciana, made with real San Marzano tomatoes imported from Italy – not “San Marzano style” tomatoes hiding inside Italian-looking cans from California – along with Parmigiano Reggiano, fresh basil, real guanciale, and Jav’s obvious skill as a chef. The result was one of the freshest and most authentic Italian pasta dishes I’ve had anywhere in the South Okanagan.
Honestly, if you brought an Italian grandmother into Fugassa, sat her down inside the beautifully designed dining room, and served her this meal, although shed still be criticizing you for not settling down with a “good Italian girl” and not visiting her enough, she would struggle to find anything to complain about the food or restaurant – and Italian grandmothers practically invented complaining about food.
I could write far more about Megan, Jav, and Fugassa, but I simply don’t have enough room. In fact, I had to delete half of what I originally wrote just so my editor wouldn’t have a brain aneurysm or require the logging of the Red Wood Forest to have enough paper to print it on. So instead, I’ll put my reputation on the line, that if you try it, you will not be disappointed and when you do tell them Sheldon sent you.
Fugassa Italian Eatery is located beside Barn Owl Eatery at 6511 Main Street, Osoyoos, BC and is currently open Wednesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., with expanded hours planned in the near future.
Sheldon Herman is the author of the multi award-winning, international best-selling book The Tortured Traveller: How I Survived the Worst Vacation Ever, and has eaten his way through over 60 countries. This review was written independently and without compensation. Have a restaurant you’d like featured? Email [email protected].
